A new study has estimated that by 2100, at least two-thirds of Emperor penguin colonies will have dramatically declined by more than half if temperatures rise at the rate predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Emperor Penguins on frozen sea ice in Antarctica. Photo: Paul Souders / Barcroft Media
Emperor penguins should be classed as an endangered species because the
majority of colonies will have lost half their populations by the end of the
century, biologists have warned.
The flightless birds which inhabit Antarctica are threatened by changes to sea
ice which are being driving by climate change.
Emperor penguins are heavily dependent on sea ice as it provides krill, one of
their primary food sources.
A new study has estimated that by 2100, at least two-thirds of emperor penguin
colonies will have dramatically declined by more than half if temperatures
rise at the rate predicted by the Interngovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)
The study was conducted by lead author Stephanie Jenouvrier, a biologist with
the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
Researchers have been returning to Terre Adélie, which lies across the
Southern Ocean from New Zeland, every year to chart populations, monitoring
their their mating, foraging, chick-rearing patterns, and following marked
individuals. "If sea ice declines at the rates projected by the IPCC climate models,
and continues to influence emperor penguins as it did in the second half of
the 20th century in Terre Adélie, at least two-thirds of the colonies are
projected to have declined by greater than 50 percent from their current
size by 2100," said Jenouvrier. "None of the colonies, even the southern-most locations in the Ross Sea,
will provide a viable refuge by the end of 21st century.
"We propose that the emperor penguin is fully deserving of endangered status due to climate change, and can act as an iconic example of a new global conservation paradigm for species threatened by future climate change.”
"We propose that the emperor penguin is fully deserving of endangered status due to climate change, and can act as an iconic example of a new global conservation paradigm for species threatened by future climate change.”
Stephanie Jenouvrier with an emperor penguin chick
The emperor penguin is currently under consideration for inclusion under the US Endangered Species Act. In 2012 the status of the birds was changed from ‘least concern’ to ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (IUCN), but they are not on the ‘red list.’
Emperor penguins are heavily dependent on sea ice for their livelihoods, and, therefore, are sensitive to changes in sea ice concentration "The role of sea ice is complicated Too much ice requires longer trips for penguin parents to travel to the ocean to hunt and bring back food for their chicks,” said Jenouvrier. “But too little ice reduces the habitat for krill, a critical food source for emperor penguins. Our models take into account both the effects of too much and too little sea ice in the colony area."
Listing the species as endangered would kick-start conservation efforts and prevent the animals being further disturbed through bad fishing practices or habitat loss. "When a species is at risk due to one factor – in this case, climate change – it can be helped, sometimes greatly, by amelioration of other factors,” said Hal Caswell, a scientist emeritus at WHOI and professor at the University of Amsterdam. “That's why the Endangered Species Act is written to protect an endangered species in a number of ways – exploitation, habitat, disturbance, etc. – even if those factors are not the cause of its current predicament."
The research was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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